This is the next installment in
our series of articles about famous
figures from a decade ago. 2002
ended the popular Comedy Central
series, BattleBots™. 2003
inaugurated a new era in combat
robotics, where our sport left the
spotlight and we tried to fly on our
own. Grassroots events sprung up
everywhere, as documented in our
2012 series of articles "The History
of Robot Combat." For 2013, we're
taking a more personal approach,
interviewing media stars from
that time.

When it comes to the glory days
of televised robot combat, few
competitors can beat Carlo
Bertocchini's record. He and his bots
appeared in two Robot Wars and
every BattleBots competition; and his
heavyweight BioHazard is widely
recognized as one of the classic bots
of its time. Chosen by McDonalds for
their immensely popular kid's meal
series, BioHazard also appeared in
the Tiger Electronics Pro Series of
BattleBots toys. Carlo was widely
respected in the builder community
for his "always built, always ready"
reputation when arriving at events.

Carlo graciously agreed to
answer our questions about the
"good old days" of 11 years ago.

Combat Zone: Carlo, back in

"the day," you did the big ones —
Robot Wars and BattleBots. How did
you get into the sport, and what
hooked you so thoroughly you sunk
so much time, energy, and money
into participating?

Carlo: Marc Thorpe
(founder of Robot Wars)
showed up at the monthly
meeting of the San Francisco
Robotics Society of America
(SFRSA). I believe this was in
1993. I had been a member for
a while and I was involved with
robot Sumo competitions at the
time. He (Thorpe) showed us a
cool robot arm he had been
working on at Industrial Light &
Magic. He also talked about his
plan to stage a competition/art
installation that would feature
fighting robots. It sounded fun,
so I started thinking about fighting
robot designs.

It does take a lot of resources,
but so do most things worth doing.
I have done a little auto racing and
I can tell you robot competition is a
lot less expensive.

What makes it to TV is only a
tiny fraction of what happens at an
event, and what happens at an event
is only a tiny fraction of what is
required in order to prepare for the
event. I probably spent an hour or
two of work for each minute my
robot or I was on TV. Others — who
may have had just a single match
televised — may have worked
hundreds of hours for the privilege.
That may sound like a questionable
return for the effort, but not if you
actually enjoy the process.

Consider the artist who spends
his time creating a painting. The
value of his activity is not measured
by how many people see his art; it is
measured in the joy of the creative
process itself. The artist who does not
enjoy painting and the robot maker
who does not enjoy making robots
should find other creative outlets.

CZ: You were at BattleBots
during the big TV events. What was
it like being a participant, from the
first event to the last?

Carlo: A full answer would fill a
book. For people who weren't there,

a viewing of the television show only
gives part of the story. Others who
participated will remember the smell
of burned rubber and electronics.
They'll remember the din of the pits
and the sound of the crashes in the
arena. You worked feverishly on your
robot while cameramen made your
life difficult and B-list celebrities
looked over your shoulder. We all had
hopes of winning, but many of us
also felt the peculiar camaraderie
that happens when a group of like-minded people get together.
Readers of this magazine may be
quite familiar with robotic sports, but
back then it was new and it was
seen as a little bizarre. There was a
Then and N w —